Winged Disaster
by Enigma Nox
Summary: Follows Max and the Flock in the time after Book 2. 3 words...School Goes BOOM! Lots of FAX tension and action. First story, read and review.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a standard issue, authors note, I don't own any of this(not even the computer I'm working on) The characters sadly belong to JP, but I try. By the way... this is my first fanfic (that I've typed) so I hope I don't do too badly.

x

"Uh, Jeb?"

"Yes Fang?"

"Max is stuck in a tree."

"So climb up and get her down, I'm busy with Angel right now."

"Uh, Jeb?"

"What, Fang?" _'Ugh twelve-year olds are annoying.' _Jeb thought as he brushed little Angel's tangled hair back into silky curls.

"She's really high up."

"Well, how'd she get up there?"

"Well, um, she, uh... flew." Fang, the boy with no fear, cowered, as he stammered. He had a right to be nervous, they'd never been taught to use their magnificent wings and fly, and had always been forbidden to even try. And now he understood why... _You get stuck in trees._

"Dear God! Fang show me where she-"

And there she was. Max came bolting thru the front door of the mountain house that the seven of them shared, a big grin on her beautiful face and pine needles in her hair and feathers.

"Jeb! I did it! I flew! But I landed in a tree and then I forgot how to fly down so I had Fang go get you, but then I remembered so I.- I - I gotta show you!" She bounced on the balls of her feet as she rambled on, looking like she was going to take off right there.

_'And she's supposed to save the world_. _Help. Me.'_ Jeb loved all of them most of all Max, but he couldn't deny what they were created for, what_ she_ was supposed to do, her destiny. All this - the escape, the house, the combat training- it was just the next step in the experiment. And Max had just passed another test. He should have been happy, but right now all he did was sit, and think about what came next. When this stage of the experiment was over, Jeb would have to betray their trust, and leave, or worse, take them back to the School where they were created.

"Max...you're talking more than Nudge. And from what I can hear, bouncing more too." Iggy, the third oldest, commented from the kitchen table, where he was "staring" down a bowl of very loud cereal, his blind eyes never leaving the bowl.

"Lean closer to your Rice Krispies, man. Maybe that'll drown her out." Fang whispered, having lost interest -since he had been there- and coming to the kitchen to rummage thru the fridge for a snack.

"I heard that! You may think you're cool Fangy-boy but not even a jackhammer can drown out your annoying voice, much less Rice Krispies!" Max glared at both boys thru the doorway .

'_Easily distracted, not good.'_ thought Jeb, taking mental notes of all the flock's progress.

"I AM cool! And your comebacks suck!"

"I don't need good comebacks, I can fly!"

'_Then again...'_

"Can you teach us Max?" Four year-old Angel asked. She had long since struggled out of Jeb's hold.

" Hey! Yeah! We all got wings, we should all get to fly right?! Well, we all have wings except Jeb, but he- _Oh! _Umm... Jeb?" Max folded her wings in tight, hung her head and waited for Jeb's inevitable reprimand - after all she had broken the most important rule in the book - but it never came. The others noticed that Jeb was grinning, something that never happened if he was angry, and decided to push their luck.

"Jeb? Can we_ please_ fly? Please?" the other five bird kids (including Nudge and the Gasman who had come in from the other room where they had been "playing" with Jeb's computer) chorused, causing Max to look up in shock. _Don't they get it? Flying equals bad! _Then she noticed what they had...he wasn't mad.

Jeb's eyes softened as he saw Max's look of shock change to one of confusion.

"Max? I'm not mad at you. How could I ever be mad at you? I've been asking myself when to teach you guys to fly since we got here. I guess better late than never. Eh?"

Six pairs of eyes widened in joy. Jeb was, after all, their hero, and he'd come thru for them yet again.

"Max, maybe you can give the demonstration. Because as you so kindly pointed out I don't have wings." He grinned, and set off a chain reaction of whoops and cheers from all six kids, even Fang, who had never "whooped" in his life, as far as Jeb knew. The whole flock and their guardian traitor piled outside and soon six sets of wings carried six kids into the cool Colorado air.

x

'_And cue the swirly time warp effect._' Max thought bitterly as the joy of that moment faded from her mind, yet again. _'What the hell was that for, Voice?' _

'_Oh, automatically blame me. Is that how we're playing now Max?'_ The normally monotone voice that resided in Max's head, now had an almost sarcastic tone.

'_Are you evolving or something? I mean, first you ans- no reply to a direct question, and I could be crazy -imagine that- but I could swear I heard some emotion.' _Max was vaguely aware of Fang talking about something or another, but she couldn't remember what.

'_Sarcasm is not an emotion Max, and don't question me. I can give you the worlds biggest migraine in a matter of seconds.'_ More sarcasm.

'_You _are_ the worlds biggest migraine.' _

'_Well someone has to motivate you to save the world.'_ Less sarcasm.

"I hate you." Max said rolling her eyes.

"What'd I do?!" Fang looked up, his dark eyes wide, like he had been slapped.

Max adopted a similar look of shock, and slapped both hands over her traitorous mouth.

"Did I say that out loud?" Max asked thru her hands as she winced. Fang raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, ya did. Now, care to explain why you hate me?"

"No!"

"No?"

"I don't hate you Fang, Not ever! The voice, I hate the voice! That's what I meant." Max was near panic.

"The voice?" Fang leaned back in his chair and the flock (who had been watching intently) relaxed, and went back to their drinks.

" It was talking to you again?" Max nodded and Fang looked toward the TV mounted in the corner of the Starbucks.

"Then why isn't the TV fritzing?" Fang asked, remembering the New York subway and the kid with the mac.

"Hell if I know! That's why I hate it."

"Ma-ax don't curse!" Nudge warned from the next table.

"Hell is not a curse word, it's a place." Max retorted.

"So can I say it?" Angel quipped, she knew Max was trying to cut down the foul language mostly to set an example for her and Gazzy.

"No!" Max and Fang answered simultaneously, then looked at each other in mock horror. The rest of the flock laughed.

"Anyway," Fang said quietly, drawing Max's attention back to their private conversation.

"Did you even hear what I was saying the past ten minutes?" He kept his voice low, so Max had to lean in a bit to hear him over the noise of the Starbucksians.

"Honestly...no." She answered sheepishly._ Not for a lack of trying. _

"Jesus, Max!" he threw up his hands in frustration.

"Where's Jesus? Maybe he can fill me in." Max could tell when Fang's mood was veering towards dangerous, as it was now, and tried to lighten the mood a little.

"Max, this is important, you cant just zone out when we're talking about things like this." Fang tried to relax. _Its not her fault she's on top of the Scientist's Most Wanted list. Cut her some slack_. He thought.

"Sorry Fang. But I got- it gave me some sort of flashback or something."

"A flashback?"

"Yeah, a full blown, Hollywood movie, flashback. Minus the swirly lights and _Twilight Zone_ music."

"Huh, What about?" All of the anger and frustration inside Fang had changed to curiosity and concern.

"Remember the day we first flew?" _How could any of them forget_.

"Uh, yeah, of course. Why'd you see that?"

"Do you really think I know?" It was Max's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Guess not huh?"

"But you know what the freaky part was? I wasn't seeing it from my eyes, it was like someone video taped it and I was watching everyone. And that's not even the worst part, I could hear what you and the others and mostly Jeb, were thinking. And I think he broke us out as part of the experiment, he never wanted us to be free."

"Max, I think that's pretty obvious by now. Wait, you said you could hear my thoughts?"

"Well, not really, but to an extent, yeah."

"Freaky."

"Ya think?"

"So can you hear what I'm thinking _now_?" Fang smirked. Now he tried to lighten the mood.

"Fang, Honestly! Angel is the psychic, I just have omniscient flashbacks apparently." it sounded harsh but Max laughed and shook her head.

"Anyway, you were saying...?" Max prompted, rotating her hand in a "carry on" motion.

"Huh?"

"What were we talking about before?"

"Oh! We gotta decide where were gonna go. 'Cuz we can't stay in the warehouse forever."

"Florida."

"Really?" Fang looked surprised. _Even after that incident in the swamp?_

"_I_ didn't say that." Max said, throwing one of her patented glares Gazzy's way. The eight year-old just grinned .

"I see. So what do _you_ say?" Fang had somehow developed a skill for mediating.

"Well, lets look at this logically. Because we're not having another go round at Disney World," another glare at the younger three. "And we're not flying to Australia to yell at the parliament about their lack of a cloning ban, even if I really want to. And we still have the oh so 'creeptacular'," Max winked at Nudge who was the self appointed word creator for the flock, and was in charge of coming up with all manner of strange words.

"Itex on our tails, so-" she continued but was stopped short.

'_How about California?'_ the voice asked casually.

'_California!? No way! That's where the school is!'_

"Max?" Iggy asked, he couldn't see the puzzled look on her face.

"The voice says California. Don't know why but that's its vote. I vote, we need more options, options that _don't_ involve the school."

"California is a big state Max." Her jaw dropped when Fang voiced his opinion. _He was supposed to be on my side. _

'_Yeah Max, California is a big state'_

'_Don't even start Voice!'_

"Come on Max, they have a Disneyland there too!" Angel pleaded. Then she, Gazzy and Nudge were making begging motions and puppy faces.

_Damn!_ Max thought. _Puppy faces!_

"How about this. We go back to the warehouse for the night, and see how things look in the morning, ok?"

"Sounds good." Fang answered for the rest of the flock before they could protest, they nodded agreement instead. A few minutes and final sips later the flock headed into the ally behind the Starbucks to collect, Total, the talking dog.

"'Bout time" he muttered as Angel untied him from a bike rack.

"Shut it Total, or I'll turn you into a hat." Max grumbled, the headache from her earlier flashback was finally catching up with her.

"Your in a bad mood. you loose a bet?"

"No, I have a voice in my head and a talking dog."

"Ouch, that really hurt Max, I might have to bite you for that."

"I'd like to see you try."

Fang laughed silently to himself as Max and Total argued back and forth, insulting each other whenever there was nothing else to say, as they all headed "home."

_She wont tell me about her problems, so she vents by insulting the dog... Typical._

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A/N: hope that went as well as I thought it would. If you liked it, don't worry, more to come soon, I am working on it, and if you didn't like it, I'm sorry.

(Certain things that are mentioned; i.e. the Australian Parliament, and Creeptacular are taken from "Fang's Blog" just search "6 kids 12 wings and 1 blog".) Anyway, comments are much appreciated. Thanks you guys


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: All right, here's some more of that FAX tension I promised, and... Maxx ?

Thanks for the reviews guys, hope this doesn't disappoint you.

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The flock trudged through the dark residential streets of the small town in South Carolina on their way to the small abandoned supply warehouse that they had been calling home for the past week. When they reached the building, Iggy picked the lock and he, Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, and Total, piled in, but Angel held Max back at the door.

"What is it Ange?" Max only had to bend slightly to be eye level with the girl that was half her age. _Guess that means I'm about done growing huh? _Max thought, knowing Angel could hear her.Angel grinned, then her face grew serious again. That worried Max.

"Fang wants you to talk to him." Angel said simply.

_Ok. Not the type of bombshell I was expecting...but huh._

"You mean he wants to talk to me? The other doesn't make sense."

"No. He doesn't want you to argue with Total when your upset or something, he wants you to talk to him."

_Arrogant male_. _Such a guy. Thinks he can solve my problems. Yeah right_

"Did he tell you this or did you get it from his head?"Max asked before Angel could decipher her thoughts.

"His head...and his face, when he was watching you and Total fight."

"His face?" Max asked skeptically. _His face is impossible to read._

"Not as impossible as you think."Angel smirked.

"Stop that!" Max scolded, but grinned.

"What?" Angel asked innocently.

"Reading my mind." Max reached out and ruffled the soft blond curls on Angel's head.

"Max? Angel? You guys coming in?" the girls turned to see Fang silhouetted in the doorway.

"Yeah. Coming." Max turned slowly and headed in. Angel ran forward and ducked in under Fangs arm. Once inside she peeked around the doorframe, winked at Max and disappeared again.

"Can we talk Max?" Fang asked, stepping forward to fill the doorway and Block her from following Angel.

"I'm tired Fang, I have a headache, and I just want to sleep. There, that's my issue for the day, can that tie you over 'till tomorrow?" She tried to push past him, but he snapped out on of his large blue-black wings, to stop her. She turned to face him.

"Fang. I really don't want to go through this right now."

"I do. I'm sick of you thinking that I can't help, you." anyone else would have been screaming if they were in Fangs shoes, but he kept his voice a deep silky whisper.

"When I needed help I would have asked you! But now... I'm not so sure." Max didn't do quite as good of a job at concealing her rage. She pushed him back hard, but he was braced against the doorframe, and as Newton's laws would have it, Max was sent backwards into the opposite side of the doorframe.

Her vision swam as a spasm went from the nerve between her wings, all down her spine. Max made a choked noise and fell forward.

_Stupid door hinges. Stupid Fang._

If they'd been in a more open space, she would have fallen flat, but Fang was still standing only a foot or two away. Fang caught her before she crumpled, and held her upright until he was sure she wasn't going to black out.

"You're only gonna hurt yourself this way, Max" Fang whispered, still holding her loosely. Max looked up at him, her vision finally starting to clear.

"Now I really _do_ hate you."she muttered. This time when she shoved past him he gave, and let her go.

Max turned and stormed off to her "room".(a small office in the corner of the warehouse)

The flock -who couldn't have possibly avoided seeing the confrontation- had gathered to watch and now scattered, to avoid being a target of Max or Fangs anger.

"Iggy!" Max called over her shoulder. Iggy froze. The tone in Max's voice was enough to freeze hell over.

"When Fang and I kill each other, you're in charge. Ok? Good." And she continued on to her door, slamming it behind her.

"Ok." Iggy squeaked miserably.

"Don't worry Ig, I wont kill her, though I cant say she wont kill me, 'cuz she probably will." Fang said, brow furrowed, and rubbing the back of his neck. _Idiot. Idiot. Idiot!_

"Yeah, dude, that was stupid."

"Shut up Total! What do you know about anything?! Ya know what, everyone just go to bed! 'Night" Soon there was another slam as Fang entered his own office/room, leaving the others to stack fists without either of their leaders.

'_At least I don't have to lead'_ Iggy thought as he sunk into sleep.

"Yet." Angel whispered, and suddenly it was a lot harder for Iggy to sleep.

_'The nerve of him!' _Max raged to the voice, hoping that it wouldn't actually find it necessary to comment. _'What part of "not now" does he not get? And in front of the others too! God!' _She started rummaging through her backpack in search of an Advil.

_'It wouldn't have gone so badly if you'd just cooperated for once in your life.' _The voice. As always, with perfect timing.

_'How many times in one day do I have to tell you I hate you? And what's that supposed to mean_,_ anyway?_' Max found the miracle pain killer and swallowed it, dry.

_' You don't _have_ to tell me you hate me Max. And what I mean is that if you would have agreed to talk to him you wouldn't have made a scene in front of the flock.'_

_'Wow, that's deep, voice, and you're a real pain in the ass...or brain. I just want to sleep. I hate it that he thinks I have some huge problem that I can't solve, and that he can. I mean, he doesn't know what I'm going through, how could he?' _Max started pacing, waiting for the pain killer to take effect.

_'He would know if you talked to him. You are here to save the world, they are here to help you. You can't save the world if you drive yourself crazy, by keeping everything penned up inside. You need to vent, you need to talk to someone, who better, than the one who's sole purpose of being is to help you?'_ Another of the voices famous speeches right from the pages of, "How to Save the World: For Dummies".

_'And I thought you were being deep before. Well, that's a deep pile of crap. Fangs not - their not just here to help me, they're my family.' _Over the course of nearly a year, the voicehad never mentioned Fang's or the rest of the flock's part in saving the world. Fang had once told Max that he and the others were just kind of redundant, but Max had always refused to believe that. But now the voice had just confirmed, Fang's conclusion, hadn't it?

_'They are whatever you want to call them Max. But I find it funny that you claim to hate Fang, then you defend him and call him family, that's what I call conflict of interest._'

'_That better not mean what I think it means.'_ She had enough problems without the voice thinking she had a crush...on Fang! _'Yeah right!'_

_'I said no such thing, but since you brought it up...'_

_'I set myself up for that one didn't I?'_

'_You didn't pull away at first, you could have, but you let him hold you. You liked it. He's not a little boy anymore Max, and he cares for you, more than you know. And notice that he's the one you defended first?'_

_'Well yeah he's no little boy - I mean, when did he get so tall, and strong, and-'_

'_And hansom?' _the voice interjected.

_'No! Ya know what, I'm not talking to you anymore. I don't like where this is going.'_ Max shook her head to try and clear the image of Fang from her mind. It didn't work so well.

A few minutes later, as Max was finally nodding off, the voice spoke again.

'_There's something you need to see Maximum.'_

Max blinked then covered her head with her sweatshirt, too tired to realize that the noise was coming from inside her head.

x

"Hey Dog-breath! Gonna share any of that sandwich? No? Damn. How's a girls supposed to live in a dog crate anyway? I mean this place already won the prize for cruel and unusual, but this is just wrong!" Max chatted conversationally with the eraser guard on the other side of the room. But he wasn't listening, and she wasn't Maximum Ride. She was Maximum Ride mark II. Maxx. '_Aw what's the point?_ _That guy has his headphones turned up so loud he probably cant even hear himself chew that sandwich of his. Well if he can't hear me, then he won't be able to hear me sawing through the bars.' _Maxx extracted the quarter she'd kept hidden in her sock, and was about to start sawing when the door opened.

"Now, I thought I wouldn't have to come back here, I thought this area was for reject experiments."

_'It talks now?' _The "It" Maxx referred to was, in essence, her sister, or maybe daughter. She was part Max, part Ari, all Jeb's pride and joy. After Maxx's failure to terminate Maximum, Jeb began a new experiment, using DNA from his son, Ari, and Maxx, he created a new hybrid, 94 human, 3 avian, and 3 lupine, much like the standard flying eraser that Ari was, but more refined and advanced. The last time Maxx saw the girl, whom Jeb called Arianna, she had been hardly more than an infant, but now she looked about fourteen. That had been two weeks ago. '_Apparently this breed matures faster.'_

"Shut up freak! After what you did to Ari, I'm surprised Jeb didn't terminate you himself." one of the large erasers growled as he pushed the girl into the crate across from Maxx's.

"Freak? And you are? What exactly?" Arianna cocked her head as if she was trying to figure out a difficult question. The guards just slammed her door closed and left.

"So, what'd you do to the furball?" Maxx asked nonchalantly, leaning her head against the bars.

"Knocked him out in two hits with a wooden sword." Arianna answered sweetly, as if she'd given him flowers. Maxx laughed.

"Ha! I knew he was useless!"

"But you're the one in the reject room"

"Yeah, well...so are you.!" Maxx sat back in her cage and started flipping her quarter over her knuckles. The girl ignored Maxx's attempt at a comeback and started up a new line of conversation.

"You still trying to get out?"

"Huh? Oh this? Naw, I'm saving up for a pony." Maxx stashed the quarter again. '_This one can't be trusted, she'll tell Jeb that I'm trying to escape.'_

"Yeah right, I might have been too young to talk but my other senses worked fine, I saw you sawing the bars. Not to mention, heard it, when I was trying to sleep. Thank you very much."

"Fine ya caught me. Don't tell ok? 'Cuz if you do I swear I'll kill you when I do get out."

"Here. I got you another one. Yours was looking kinda dull." Arianna pulled out another quarter and tossed it over to Maxx. She caught it and shook her head.

"Why are you helping me, I thought you were, all, 'pro-School' or something?"

"Maxx, Maxx, Maxx, No one is 'pro-School' except for the scientists and the erasers, who are too brainwashed to know any better. I mean look around you whenever a whitecoat comes in here, everyone cringes, and most of the experiments in here are brain dead. That has to tell you something."

"All right, I get it. But that doesn't explain why you're helping me."

"Isn't it obvious? So you can let me out. I'd work on my own escape plan but seeing as you already have a head start and they're more likely to check my crate, I figure, I'll help you and you bust me out in return."

"Fair enough." And Maxx started sawing again.

"Hey, cut that out!" the large guard eraser had removed his headphones and was surveying the cages. He was coming at Maxx with a stun rod in hand and a look of fury, as he morphed.

'_Busted" _Maxx thought.

"Huh, uh, can't blame a girl for trying, right." all the fight gone from her as she realized that this wasn't going to end well.

"Guess not, but I can do this." the eraser pulled back his lips to expose huge teeth, and plunged the stun rod through the bars and into Maxx's neck. She began shaking violently as the electricity coursed through her. Arianna screamed and the sadistic S.O.B. attacked her as well. Maxx blacked out, watching her new friend try to escape only to be slammed upside the head by a ham-sized fist.

x

Max woke with a start just as her clone passed out. _' Voice? Tell me that wasn't actually happening_.'

'_Sorry Max, it was, and I had to show you. This is why you need to go to California.'_

"California it is then." Max said with a sigh.

'_Why me?'_

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A/N: ok there it is. Well hope I didn't butcher it already. In my defense, a lot of this was written late at night so if some of it doesn't make sense that's why. Also Arianna is a made up character, made up by me and my friend. I do not claim rights to any other character but Arianna is mine. Just so you know. Anyway, I probably won't be able to put chapter three up till next weekend, what with school and all so don't panic ok? Review please!

E.N


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Ok, I've been having trouble figuring out how to connect chapter 2 to my idea for chapter 4 so if you don't think chapter 3 is as good, don't give up on me just yet. Chapter 4 will be worth the wait and suffering through this chapter. I'm adding just a little fluff here just for fun so...enjoy... or don't your choice.

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Max silently slipped out of her room and crept towards the opposite wall of the warehouse. She picked her way around the sleeping bodies of her flock, feeling horrible for her behavior earlier that night.

_'I've got to make it up to them somehow. Maybe we can try Disneyland after all this is done.'_

_'Don't think too far ahead Max, it will only hurt you later. Focus on fixing the problems at hand, not the ones that haven't come up yet.'_

_'I was talking to myself thanks. And, you don't think the flock maybe hating me isn't a current problem? Care to explain how you came up with that?'_

_'Talking to yourself huh? Now I understand why you think you're crazy.'_ the voice was really enjoying it's newfound sarcasm.

_'Says the voice in my head.'_ Max rolled her eyes.

'_As much as I enjoy arguing with you about your sanity, you have something you need to take care of right now_, _and you're not getting out of it._'

'_I don't see how this can't wait until tomorrow.' _Max protested and instantly regretted it.

_'Maximum. This was originally your idea_. _And if you don't do this now, there will be more problems to deal with tomorrow. Fang is you're main issue, fix things with him and the others will be easy.'_

_'Why do you have to be right?'_

_'Just get it over with Max.'_

Max sighed inwardly, nodded and turned the knob of Fang's door, opening it slowly.

Fang's "room", much like Max's was a small office with a large sliding window. Tonight, though, the blinds were drawn back and Fang's window framed the full moon, which bathed the whole room in silver-blue light. Max blinked as she stepped in from the near pitch darkness of the main room, and at first all she could see were shapes. But as her vision came back into focus, she realized that what she had thought was a stray piece of furniture was actually Fang sitting in the open window. His large wings hanging loosely behind him, glinting purple in the blue light, his head was tilted back as he stared up at the moon, and Max could make out the white ear buds of the iPod they had bought -with a stolen credit card- resting in his ears.

_'That's why he didn't hear me come in._ _I probably shouldn't bother him, he looks peaceful'_

'_And sad_. _You need to do this Max. Besides, he'll probably hear you leave, the song can't last forever.'_

_'Fine.' _Max took a deep breath and walked across the room. She leaned on the sill and looked up at Fang, who had noticed her presence and was shutting of the music. Max caught the tail end of a new song by Chevelle, one of Fang's favorite bands. " Leave well enough alone" Max realized that the voice had been right, again. Fang was upset and it was probably her fault. Max inhaled again,

"Sorry-" their eyes widened as they realized they had spoken at the same time, yet again.

"We gotta stop doing that." Fang said with a weak smile. Max nearly died. He was blaming himself. He was trying to get on her good side, lighten the tension, it all just made her feel worse.

"Fang, you don't have to apologize for anything, I was being, I don't know?" she looked up at him again in exasperation, lacking the words to prove her sincerity.

"A bitch?You weren't. I was being stupid and I should have just let it go, you are the leader, and..."He kept moving his eyes from Max, back to his hands. She cut him off with a shake of her head.

"I can't do it alone Fang, especially not now, I need all the help I can get, 'cuz this isn't going to be easy." She tugged on her braid nervously.

"What's not going to be easy, Max? What's going on?" suddenly he was on full alert, hanging on her every word. She began to relay her dream/vision to him, when she got to the end, she shuddered. _'Maxx may have been crazy but no one deserves that, and the kid too.' _Fang gave her a questioning look and tentatively put his arm over her shoulders.

"I know why the voice said California, we have to end the School, bring it down for good." she leaned closer to Fang, the prospect of returning to the school, driving her to seek comfort, even if she wouldn't admit that she was enjoying being so close to him.

"I'm in." Fang said quietly, Max could feel his breath on her cheek as he spoke

"Really?" she looked up at him, she hadn't expected him to agree so quickly. It was only then that Max noticed how close they really were.

_'Looking up, bad idea." _she thought, but she couldn't look back down.Fang's eyes searched Max's face as he contemplated his next move.

'_Best not to complicate things right now. Keep your head in the game. The "stay alive" game. Just break the tension, save this for a better time.' _Fang made his decision, and his more rash, impulsive side regretted it, but that side was currently grounded, for the incident that evening.

"Yeah, 'cuz the longer their in business the more versions of you they make, and that's just not acceptable." Max pulled back and looked at him, from a safer distance. He grinned to reassure her that he was only trying to joke around._ 'Nice save.' _she thought.

"We should try to sleep," Max saidquickly,pulling awayand heading for the door "We've got a long flight tomorrow." with that she slipped back out into the darkness and back to her own room.

XXX

The next morning:

"Take out the School? You're serious? Max. Your blond is showing." Iggy hadn't slept well.

"Ig, Don't insult me. It's not like I make suicidal decisions for fun. We have to do this. And how would you know if my hair was blond anyway?" Max rubbed her temples, this was giving her a migraine, the normal kind

'_I like the other kind better, at least then no one hates me, or insults me.'_

"No one hates you Max, Iggy's just tired. And you're hair _is_ coming in more blond right now." Angel came up and hugged Max in her own way of reassurance.

"Thanks Ange." she ruffled the younger girl's hair, and looked up quizzically at her own.

_'Huh. It is blonder.'_

This discussion had started at breakfast, when Fang had entered from an early run to the local bakery, and asked Max when they would be leaving, assuming she had already filled in the others. She hadn't, and it hadn't gone well from there. Max had explained her plan, Fang helping where he could, pitching in ideas, and the others, even those who were for the trip, began having doubts. All this time the plan had been to lay low and run when necessary, now they were going to turn and fight. It was a scary notion. In the end the voice had been right again, "Fix things with Fang and the others would be easer." Him backing her up was the only thing that had kept breakfast from turning into a riot.

"What if I told you that none of you are going to have to go anywhere near the School? And that I know someone who can give everyone a place to stay for a while?"

"What do you mean, 'none of us have to go near the School'?" Gazzy asked, his wispy hair falling in his eyes as he cocked his head.

"I'm going in alone." she shot Fang a look that said, _Don't argue right now, I'm winning them over._ He just shrugged and hunched closer to his bagel, like it was telling him a juicy secret.

"But what if they catch you inside?" Nudge asked, eyes wide.

"I won't even have to go inside. I just need to plant some of Iggy's bombs outside then watch the fireworks" she hadn't told them, however, that there were intelligent experiments, including her clone and clone sister, inside, and she was in fact going inside and setting them all free. Fang knew of the experiments but kept his mouth shut, he knew Max was trying not to alarm them, and he figured that was the best idea, even if he did end up talking her out of it later.

"How many bombs are you gonna need?" Iggy asked, finally warming up to the idea, seeing as he could help and still be a safe distance away.

"A lot, and I need a way to set them all of at the same time from a distance."

"You said you know someone who can give us a place to stay. Does said someone have a tool shed?" Iggy raised an eyebrow, an eery effect with his glassy blue eyes. Max grinned.

"Yep. A big one."

"I'm in!" Iggy said with a nod. That was enough for the younger three, since they had no other problems with the plan. There were nods all around, and a stern look from Fang, but Max was glad the decision had been made in her- no, Maxx and Arianna, and the other's- favor.

"Ok then, finish up breakfast, pack up, and we'll be gone as soon as everyone's ready. Oh and someone let the dog out."

"I resent that."

XXX

Two days of flying and sleeping in trees, later...

"Should be right around here." Max said as they flew high over the California trees.

"Do they know we're coming?" "Are you sure this is it?" "Do you think they'll let us all stay?"

The flocks questions buzzed around Max's head as she searched for the familiar clearing in the trees. _'There it is.' _Not bothering to answer, she angled her wings and began circling lower and lower, until she was only a few feet above the roof of the little house, the others followed suit. A door slammed, and a girl's shriek cut through the air.

"Max! Max, you came back!" the girl was soon joined by an older woman, as Max flew closer for landing. The rest of the flock hovered for a moment as Max was enveloped in hugs, then everyone decided it was safe, and joined Max on the ground.

"Ella, Ms. Martinez, this is my flock. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel."

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Well there's that. Hope you enjoyed it.(and, OK, it was quite a bit of fluff, but hey!) If my facts are a little off on Ella and her mom, it's because I don't have my _Angel Experiment_ book right now, so bear with me. Please review. Sorry if it doesn't flow as well as the last two chapters, this one was hard to write.

Thanks all of you who have reviewed, and all of you who will.

ENox


	4. Chapter 4

1Chapter 4

A/N: Ok first off, I have a good idea for the end of the chapter, and certain bits of dialogue but no idea how to put it together, so sorry if it's a bit choppy. (Goddess, I gotta get better at this idea thing) Oh and I'm in a kind of hyper, goofy mood, so there will be humor and probably a little fluff. And what do y'all think of Iggy/Ella? -Elly? (And I know Ella's house is actually in Arizona, but this is easer.)

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"Well, this is defiantly a surprise. Why don't you all come in, you must be tired. I'll fix some snacks and we can get to know each other. How's that sound to everyone?" Ms. Martinez never ceased to amaze Max. _'Somehow she's never really caught off guard. I mean if I were_ _her and a flock of mutant bird kids landed in my front yard, I'd be freaking out. But she invites us all in for snacks. Go figure.' _The flock on the other hand _was_ caught off guard.

_'Their human, and their not freaking out? Max trusts them? She obviously knows them from before, but when_? _and why am I asking myself these questions? I just need to talk to Max. Without causing a scene.' _Fang thought, the others were thinking a lot of the same questions, but they all followed Max as she followed the humans into the house.

xXx

"Ok so now I know where you're obsession with chocolate chip cookies comes from Max. But why didn't you snag the recipe for Ig earlier? I mean these are heaven." Nudge mumbled through a mouth full of cookie-e goodness. They were sitting around the kitchen table with Ella and her mother.

"Wait, Iggy cooks?"Ella asked

"Yes I do, and if you think that's weird, our dog talks." Iggy grinned in her direction, and stuffed another cookie in his mouth. Ella looked at him curiously, then down at Total, who was sitting back on his haunches, in a begging position.

"Can I have a cookie?" he asked. Ella jumped, and her mother looked down at him.

"What you don't get talking dogs at you're office?" Max laughed as she saw their startled reactions.

"Well you all live interesting lives, wings, talking dogs, evil scientists." the last two words killed the mood almost instantly.

"How'd you know about the evil scientists? I never mentioned-" Max leaned forward in her seat, ready to make a quick escape. The others were still stunned.

"Max. Calm down," Ms Martinez soothed. "I just assumed. You're wings, that could only be done by genetic scientists, and then there was you're reaction to the lab coat when we were at my office. I put two and two together, and no, I'm not one of them. Please calm down?"

"Sorry, I just, it kinda threw me for a second. I guess that's what I get for not being around normal people often enough, huh? One little thing and I'm all tense." Max amended, feeling embarrassed.

"It's ok Max. But speaking of being around people, we should probably set up beds for you all. Why don't you and Ella help me with the pull out in the living room, then we can bring the air mattress into the study, and then we'll go out and get you all some new clothes, it looks like you've been living in those for weeks." Ms. Martinez got up and headed for the linen closet, then tossed a bundle of sheets Max's way.

_'She never misses a beat.'_

"You are staying right?" Ms. Martinez arched an eyebrow, as if to say, 'you better be.'

"I think we can give Fang the study, Iggy and Gazzy can have the living room, Nudge, Angel, you two can stay in Ella's room, and Max can have the guest room. Is that good for everyone?"

"Yeah. That'll work. Fang and I can get the pull out, if you and Ella want to get the air mattress? Right Fang?" Fang didn't respond. He was slouched in his chair, staring ahead with his eyes half closed a half smile.

"Fang? Are you ok?" Max tried to keep the worry out of her voice, unsuccessfully.

"Gimme a sec. I'm in heaven." his mouth was still full of cookie and it came out as a muffled grunt, but Max just laughed and dragged him out of his chair and into the living room, as the others followed Ms. Martinez and Ella to help with setting up the other beds.

The next day, Max shuffled out into the kitchen, late in the morning. She had much the same look as the rest of the flock, sleepy but happy. Ella and her mother were already dressed and there was a mountain of pancakes on the table.

"You'd think you guys have never slept in beds before, the way you're acting." Ella feigned seriousness, then turned back to packing her lunch.

"Not in a long time." Fang mumbled. His black hair was hanging down in his eyes, in wet pieces. The water already soaking his new black shirt.

_'I see he's already taken a shower. Hope he didn't use all the hot water." _

"Ever heard of a towel buddy?" Max pinched a strand of his hair and tugged gently, causing more water to drip onto his lap.

"Hey! What was that for?" he swung a half hearted punch, which Max sidestepped.

"It was bugging me. And you shouldn't waste water." she flashed him a smile as he tried to punch her again, continued to her chair, and began pilling pancakes on her plate.

"Well, Ella has to go to school, and I have to go to work, so will you kids be ok here, for a few hours?" Ms. Martinez asked. Six heads nodded. "Can I trust you?" Six more nods. "Will you still be here when we get home?" this time five heads turned toward Max. She nodded.

"I'd be really stupid if I made us leave, when we're being treated so nicely. But eventually we will have to leave. I don't know how long Ms. Martinez can support our eating habits." Max smiled, at her flock and her friends.

"I think we can manage, so you'll be staying for a good long while if I have anything to say about it." Max nodded again but she was thinking about how her chip would lead Jeb right to them, and to the Martinez's. _'It happened before, it _will_ happen again, and this time they may not be so lucky'_

"Cool! I always wanted to have lots of siblings! So you guys are my honorary brothers and sisters. Hey, Mom, maybe we could enrol everyone in school, then they don't have to be home alone all day, wouldn't that be cool?" Ella was bouncing on her heels and it reminded Max of her vision, seeing herself, bouncing in front of Jeb, rambling. Everyone else was reminded of the time they spent with Annie and attended a private school/asylum.

"Maybe. We tried school once, it didn't really work out so well." Ms. Martinez raised an eyebrow at this but didn't question.

"Well how about walking with me to the bus stop Max? It's a start, at least, right?" Ella smiled hopefully.

"Sure, I'll go." Max said, shoveling the last bites of pancake into her mouth.

"Can I come?" Max gave Fang a questioning look which he returned with a "_what?_" look. Max shrugged and Ella smiled.

"Sure, you guys may want to grab your jackets though." she nodded towards their wings that were folded loosely against their backs, through the slits in their new shirts.

"Hehe, yeah, guess that would be a problem. Be right back. Fang?" Max stood, and headed back towards her room, Fang followed and quickly closed the distance between them.

"What's that all about?" Max whispered once they were in the hallway.

"You and I need to talk, walking her to the bus, will give us the excuse and the time, after she leaves of course. Besides, I need some fresh air."

"Fine. I just thought for a second that you were trying to hit on her or something." Fang tried to suppress a grin.

"Why would that bug you?"

"No! But she's my friend and we do have to leave eventually."

"Then save it for Iggy, I'm pretty sure he has a crush on her, you didn't see them earlier this morning." he made a gagging noise and pointed his finger down his throat. "Anyway, she's not my type. Go get you're jacket Max." Fang shook his head, and Max scowled.

"Don't give me orders." She gave him her best angry face then laughed and continued down the hall.

As Max and Fang headed out with Ella, they heard Iggy and the Gasman, asking Ms. Martinez if they could use her tool shed for a project they were working on.

"So how come you never told me there were more like you, Max?" Ella asked as soon as they were down the driveway.

"At the time I guess it was on a need-to-know basis. And now you know so, what can I say." Max looked sheepish, as they continued down the block.

"You could Make it up to me by staying." They reached the corner and stopped by a sign that read "bus stop".

"We'll see, ok? You're bus is here."

"No it's not, I don't see it, yet."

" I do. And I hear it. They need to put a new engine in that thing." Fang said peering around the corner and further down the street.

The bus pulled in, Ella got on and Max and Fang waved until she was out of sight.

"We should stay for a bit." Fang said, totally deadpan.

"Fang. Remember this?" Max held up her arm and pulled her sleeve back, revealing an ugly scar from her attempt at self surgery. Fang winced, remembering finding Max covered in her own blood and half crazy.

"They track the chip. They always find me, and I don't want to put Ella and her mom in harm's way any longer than I need to."

"Yeah but if we succeed in blowing up the school, they wont be able to track you."

"That's not a sure thing, they could have other equipment somewhere else, and it's just gonna be me, not you and me, not me and the flock, just me." Max turned and headed back down the street to the Martinez house.

"Max, this is suicide, if they don't catch you, by some miracle, the explosion could kill you, or the experments, yes I know you were planning to let them out. Some of those things are trained to kill you, or have you forgotten Max II, and what her original purpose was?"

Max spun and faced him. He was expecting her to yell at him, but her voice came out as a low hiss instead.

"I'm doing this, Fang, whether you like it or not. And I'm doing it for those experiments, or have _you_ forgotten what they did to _us_ in there. And we were successful, these aren't so lucky." Fang sighed _'So much for convincing her not to do this.'_

"Lets just forget this whole conversation ok?" Max said quietly as they neared the front door. Fang just nodded. Max caught the worry in his face and added,

"Fang, I'll be fine. Piece of cake, or cookie, your choice." she gave a weak smile to try to reassure him, but she wasn't to sure herself so it didn't work as well as she planned. Fang opened the door and they filed inside.

xXx

That night:

_'I can't believe I'm doing this.'_ Max thought as she climbed out the window of the guest room and made her way across the lawn to the tool shed where Iggy's bombs waited. When Iggy had told her that evening that he and Gazzy finished twelve bombs and the detonator, the voice had told her that she had to do it tonight. So here she was, running away from her friends and flock, on a suicide mission to save a bunch of brain dead experiments, a sister she'd never met, and her murderous clone.

_'What a wonderful life I lead.'_

_'Well I can tell you that after this, it should get easer. Well the living part, definitely not the saving the world bit.' _The voice spoke up again.

_'Dang, and here I was hoping that I could just skip that part.' _the tension was making Max irritable. She gathered the explosives and silently slipped out of the shed again. Once outside, she began to run, then she opened her wings and took off into the cool night air.

_' The sooner you get there the sooner you can leave Max, you have the means so stop procrastinating.'_ now the voice sounded irritated.

'_Hey I'm flying aren't I? Excuse me if I'm not too eager to get there.' _But Max knew the voice was right, so she poured on the speed. Even under the circumstances, Max had to admit that flying felt good, and using her speed, and having the wind on her face almost let her forget where she was going. Until she was there.

'_All too soon.'_

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A/N: well, there's that. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. What will happen next? Will Max succeed? And what will the flock do when they find her missing?

Really I can't answer those questions yet, seeing as I'm asking them too. Naw I have a plan.

Thank you all again for your reviews, and for all you Arianna fans, read my friend's(and Ariannas' co-creator) fic, about her life as a genetic experiment(Arianna's POV). It's called Wings of Death and it's pretty good.

Anyway thanks again, I'll see you next week, as I'm going to try to post every Sunday night.

ENox


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N: OOOOOHHHH! This will be good, I'm excited about writing it, and I KNOW you are gonna love Reading it! I hate bragging but this is just to good! Lots of suspense, and finally the action I promised! And I'm Hyper! Ok on a calmer note, I put a list of questions on my profile, about the story, so I'd really appreciate it if Y'all sent me you're ideas. Thanks for all y'all's help, and I'll get on with the story now. Enjoy!

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It was an imposing facility. With gray cement walls and a black tar roof, the main building was a single story, rectangle, sitting in the middle of the compound. There were two other buildings, with much the same decor, the scientist's bunk house, in the back of the facility, and the guard house, situated by the front gate and housing the School's back up generator, and security camera monitors.

Max started there. After circling the perimeter, she landed on the roof of the guard house, and planted one bomb in the center. Drawing out a spool of thin wire, she attached the first bomb to another in her pack. She set the second, down on the generator casing, then attached her next bomb.

_'But first Ladies and Gentlemen, a quick side trip. Shut down the cameras.'_ She thought grimily. She jumped down to the ground, leaving her backpack and the bombs there, and pulled open a window. She slid inside and counted two Erasers in the small rooms. Without thinking Max lunged at the closest Eraser. They were dressed as cops, complete with cuffs and nightstick.

_'Part of the cover. Oh well, makes it easer for me, just don't let them morph.'_ She grabbed the first guy's nightstick and smashed it into the back of his neck, he was out in seconds. The second Eraser lunged, but Max ducked, coming up as he was halfway over her, driving her head into his gut. The force knocked him backwards and had Max seeing stars, but she recovered faster. With a short leap, Max gave the poor meathead, a full roundhouse kick to the face, and he joined his friend in the town of Unconscious. Max quickly dragged them into sitting positions, back to back and used their handcuffs to bind them together and to a support beam, in the center of the room. She removed their two way radios so they couldn't call for help if they woke up, then gagged them with their cheesy rent-a-cop ties. She also tossed the cuff keys out the window.

_'Piece of cookie.'_

Max then sprinted across the field to the Bunkhouse and planted the third bomb there, laying out the wire behind her. She doubled back to the main building, leaving a bomb by each of the four walls, careful to avoid lighted windows. The remaining five bombs, she placed on the four corners and the center of the roof. With the center bomb, she placed the detonator- Iggy had fashioned it out of an old RC car- and attached the end of the wire to the device. The remote trigger was still safely tucked away in her backpack.

_'All right, time to get inside.'_ She thought as she brought up a mental picture of the map that they had found in Jeb's files, over a year ago. Using her mental map and her own memories from her stay, she quickly found the window to the "reject room". There were bars on the window but they came off easily, especially since Max had thought to snag a screwdriver from the tool shed. She peered inside cautiously then opened the window and slipped inside. Inside, the smell of excrement hit her in a wave, she fought back painful memories as she took in her new surroundings.. She saw about a dozen pairs of eyes shining from the outside light. They were all looking at her, wondering what was going to happen to them now.

'_Poor things, I remember what it's like to be afraid of every little thing, they don't deserve this.'_

_"_Hey guys. Ready to get out of this hell hole?" she tried to comfort them, give them hope that they were finally getting out.

"Maximum?" a voice exclaimed in a loud whisper. Something in that voice sounded familiar

'_It's my voice! But something's different.' _she thought in a sudden rush. She walked to the cage the voice had come from, bent down and looked inside.

"Hiya clone! Did ya miss me?" Max said in a cheerful voice.

"No. But surprisingly, I am glad to see you. I've had just about enough of this. You bustin' us out?" Maxx rasped, her voice was hoarse from the stun rod, Max realized.

"Yeah, but you need to do two things for me, ok?"

"I'm listening, what do you need?"

"One, you don't kill me, and two you help me get the others out. Deal?" Max raised her eyebrows, as if to say "you don't have any other options." Maxx shrugged.

"Deal. The keys to Arianna's and My locks are in the next room with the guard, the other crates don't have locks, and we can help you with those later." Maxx pointed to the cage across the room from hers, then to the door.

"Got it. I'll be right back." Max headed for the door, and opened it slowly. Inside was another Eraser, but luckily he was asleep. He had a security badge pinned to his jacket, it identified him as "Curtis".

_'Curtis, huh? That's real menacing. Where do they come up with these names?'_

She quickly spotted the keys hanging on a hook by the door, grabbed them and returned to her clone's crate.

"Just start letting everyone out, and then we'll get them outside." Max advised as she undid the lock.

"Yes Ma'am." Maxx answered unenthusiastically. Max scowled, then headed to Arianna's cage. As she stepped closer, she saw a pair of smallish black and ruddy orange wings flare, and a young face morph into a wolf-y snout.

"So, you're my sister thing huh? Sorry your family kinda sucks." The girl relaxed as Max spoke, and her muzzle receded to normal human features.

'_She looks like Ari, dark hair and eyes, and like me in a way, my build and face. So would that make her our daughter, and wouldn't that be kind of like incest? Well if I wasn't sure before, this is final clinching proof that Jeb is insane.' _Max shook her head, and got to work on the lock.

"You know, not all my family is so bad. I mean, you are letting us all out, and she," Arianna nodded towards Maxx, who was busy letting the others out of there cages. "Was gonna try and bust us out before, so I think I've got at least two good relatives. Even though Ari's useless." she concluded as she stepped out of the too small crate, stretching her back and wings. Max smiled, then remembered where she was. The room was now filled with hybrids, mostly human mixes, and a few that were unrecognizable. They were all just kids, a few had wings, others had tails and furry ears, and the rest had extra limbs, or not enough, any way you looked at it, it was cruel and unusual.

"Arianna. I want you to get these kids outside, you can go out the front gate or you can carry them over the fence, your choice." Max handed the younger girl a map, with a highlighted route on it.

"Take the back roads, that should lead you to a church, about two miles away, they can take care of you all there. Don't leave them ok? Their your flock now, got it? I'm trusting you to take care of them, they need you. Can I count on you?" Max had marked the route earlier that evening when she had decided to leave. She knew that they needed a place that was going to protect them and, from what little she knew about church, she knew the people there would, at least be kind. Arianna looked solemn, as she nodded and herded the others, out the open window without another word.

"Maxx. You're with me. Where are the other experiments kept?" Max turned to her clone, who wore a serious look almost identical to Max's own.

"This way." Maxx took the lead and walked into the next room. Curtis was still there, snoring loudly now. Maxx took one look at him, reached out and snapped his neck.

"What the hell was that for!?" Max was shocked, and stared at her double in horror.

"He deserved it, and you're gonna blow the place, he was going to die anyway." Maxx said with a shrug.

"How'd you know I was gonna blow the place?"

"You smell like gunpowder and I don't see a gun, so the next logical solution is a bomb."

"Oh. Well if he deserved to die, then I deserve this." Max plucked Curtis' iPod out of his pocket and slipped it into her pack. Maxx raised an eyebrow.

"What? You try sharing one iPod between six kids with different musical tastes." Max countered.

"Fine. lets keep going." with a shrug Maxx opened the next door and stepped out into the hallway. Max followed as they walked down the corridor to another room, like the one that the corpse or Curtis now occupied. But this one was empty, Max grabbed the set of keys for the cages in the next room, and put her hand on the doorknob. Maxx's hand shot out and grabbed her predecessor's wrist.

"They might be incompetent, but the guards don't leave their posts, this is a trap, someone knows you're here."

"I'm willing to take that risk, besides, he could have gone for a bathroom break, ya never know." She turned the knob. This was a room Max remembered, stacks of cages against a wall, barred windows, and the ever present smell of antiseptic. The only difference was a large metal table, in one corner. And behind that table, sat Jeb, with Ari standing behind him.

"Hello Max."

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"Max!" Fang sat up, suddenly and nearly flew down the hall to Max's room. She wasn't there.

_'Maybe I'm still having a nightmare. No if it was a nightmare, I would have found her, but she'd be dead. This is so much worse than a nightmare, it's real, and Max is gone!'_

"MAX!" He couldn't contain his frustration, he kicked her bed frame, and heard bones crack, but he didn't think about that now. Within seconds Fang heard feet running down the hall, he turned to face the door as six faces appeared in the doorway.

"Max is gone." he said, then sat down hard as he noticed the pain in his foot.

"And I broke my foot." he muttered bitterly.

----------------------------------------X-Back at the School-X-----------------------------------------

"I'm disappointed Max, I expected you to have a backup plan, but you just waltz in here, with no failsafe, no back up, and no plan B. I thought I taught you better." Jeb chided smugly, folding his hands on the table. '_Like a classic super villain._' Max thought.

"Who says I don't have all that? Or are you just hoping I don't have bombs planted around the whole compound? And, I obviously have backup, right, Maxx?" Max crossed her arms over her chest, thankful for her windbreaker that covered up the goose bumps that had appeared on her arms. Despite the tough talk, Max was trembling inside.

_'What scares me the most is that I used to look up to him, and he's right. I don't have a failsafe or a plan B. I'm just lucky Maxx is on my side.' _she looked over to her clone to confirm her thoughts. Maxx's eyes were burning with rage as she stared at Jeb. But she nodded slowly, and Max knew she would kill the man, given the chance.

Jeb's face hardened. He looked back at Ari, then jerked his chin towards the girls. Ari grinned and sauntered forward. Both, the clone and the original, dropped into fighting stancesas their "brother" approached.

"Relax Max," he added a barely audible "-is" after considering who he was addressing.

"I'm not gonna fight you two. Dad won't allow it. I just need your backpack Max. But when Dad's not around..."He added the last bit in a low whisper, leaning close to Max's head and drawing in a long breath, before pulling the bag from her shoulders, and returning to stand beside his father. All Max could do was stand as still as possible and try not to retch. With a brief hand signal from Jeb, Ari upended the bag onto the table. Max, winced, as the bomb trigger fell out, among the assortment of knick-knacks, including, Curtis's iPod. Ari's eyes went wide as he saw the trigger, not in shock, but because, it still looked like the remote for an RC car that is had been, before Iggy's tampering.He picked it up and began fiddlingwith the controls.

"Ari, don't! Too late." Max started forward but stopped as the remote beeped.

"What? You afraid I'm gonna break your toy?" Ari jeered, not noticing that he had juset armed the bombs.

"Ari, just put it down and no one dies, ok? You just armed twelve Bombs, that are set to blow if you push one more button, so just set it down, ok?" Max tried to stay calm, but with Ari's size and maturity level, they were all in big trouble.

"You're bluffing Max. No matter what was done to you here, there's no way you could even think about killing everyone in this place. It's not your way, Max." Jeb sounded so sure but his eyes showed an emotion Max had never seen there. Fear.

"She might not be capable but I am, who's to say it wasn't me that set them up, huh?" Maxx spoke for the first time since entering the room.

"That's impossible, considering you've been locked up for a month." again Jeb regained his composure. Maxx said nothing more.

"Max, I'd been hoping you'd have a change of heart about this place, I was hoping we could all be a family again. Like it used to be."

"Somehow I think that conflicts with the saving-the-world-thing. Which, and I'm still fuzzy on this part but, you said I was supposed to start taking seriously. So, I'm not gonna listen to your bull anymore, I'm taking control of my life. That means, getting rid of this place and you. Besides, the way I see it, the world is a lot safer with less mad scientists." Max said with a smirk.

"I just want to say, Max, you always were my favorite." Jeb confessed quietly. Ari, angered by his father's statement, slammed his fist down on the table. The remote beeped, and everyone looked down at Ari's fist, it still held the trigger.

"Now ya done it. Say hi to Hades for me ok Jeb?" Max closed her eyes and took a breath.

The building shook and began collapsing inward, within seconds. The sound came moments later, but the only ones who heard it was a small group of hybrid refuges, quietly making their way in the opposite direction, as the cloud settled in the air. A cloud that was seen by the eight worried occupants of a speeding van that was still hours away.

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A/N: Oh no I didn't. Yes I did! I left you hanging, Haha! Wow that was fun! Ok don't kill me just yet, even if you really want to, 'cus if you do...you'll never get the next chapter,(maybe the ending?) Please review, criticize if necessary, but I want your ideas and opinions.

ENox


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A/N: Well here it is at last. The much anticipated conclusion of Winged Disaster. Yes this is the end. This is going to be a short chapter, but I hope it makes up for the cliff hanger and the wait.

P.S. for updates(on what's going on w/ my writing/ life, check my profile. I update that more often than my stories.)

Anyway... On with the fun!( it's not all that fun really)

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_'How am I alive?' _Jeb thought as he came to. He opened his eyes and blinked groggily in the morning sun. Above him was a large silver-grey covering, that he first mistook as the ceiling. It was, in fact, the examination table he had been sitting at earlier, though he couldn't remember why he'd been there, or why the School was in ruins around him. A pile of rubble shifted, and produced a human figure. Jeb's first thought was Max, and that triggered his memory. _Ari warning him that the perimeter had been breeched; Waiting for Max in the Experiment room; The Maxes bursting in to attempt a rescue; pouring his heart out to his daughter; Ari fiddling with the "supposed" detonator for the bombs Max had "supposedly" planted around the compound; Beeping; Max telling him he was going to hell(in more or less words); Then diving under the table as the bombs went off, and Ari hitting the ground beside him. _The memories hit him in waves and he realized the figure in the rubble was not Max, but his son, Ari.

xXx

_Earlier_

"Stop the car!" Fang yelled as soon as he saw the cloud, and connected the dots on what must of happened.

_'Max!'_

Ms. Martinez slammed the breaks, out of pure reflex, and turned to look at Fang, who was already flinging open the passenger side door.

"No! Fang! We all go together, remember, we agreed on this." she said trying to sooth him as he clamored outside.

"Not fast enough." Fang practically growled. Without hesitation, he leaped into the air, and was quickly becoming a speck in the distance before anyone had time to react. Ms. Martinez looked at the other four bird children, their talking dog, and her own daughter, and started the car again. She wasn't about to let anymore of them dive headfirst into harms way, at least not without her to protect them.

xXx

_Thirty minutes later_

Jeb picked through the wreckage, towards the place he remembered seeing Max last, letting Ari struggle out of his concrete "straight jacket" on his own. As he neared the spot, he recognized the golden blond hair, that was showing through a gap in another pile of what had been the ceiling. Jeb began furiously digging at the heap until he uncovered, both Max and her

clone, though he couldn't tell which was which. He'd seen death before, but this he could not handle. Max, his baby girl, dead. Killed by the weapon that was meant to kill him. The sight of them laying there made him feel sick, and he turned away. Ari lumbered over to see what Jeb was so fascinated with and gasped.

_"No. Not Max.' _Ari reached towards the bodies, but Jeb called out roughly.

"Leave them alone Ari. And cover them up." Jeb removed his lab coat and handed it solemnly to his son. Ari took the coat, and began to gently place it over the bodies as Jeb started to walk away.As Jeb walked toward the perimeter fence, (through the now non-existing, wall) a flicker of movement caught Ari's eye and he paused, pulling back the coat just enough to see the faces of the two people he love most.

_'I swear one of them just moved.' _He thought, astonished. Jeb's harsh voice cut through the stillness, telling Ari it was time to leave, and he decided that he was only imagining things because of grief. He followed his father to a van parked near the bunkhouse and they sped off in the opposite direction. Toward Itex Headquarters in New York.

xXx

_A few minutes later_

Fang landed in a run. The landscape was dark, grey on grey on black, despite the morning sun. It was the sharp contrast of a bright white against the dust and dirt that drew his hawk eyes. He headed toward the white mound, like it was some sort of beacon, though it was probably just a dead whitecoat. As he edged closer, he saw that it was in fact a white coat, but that it wasn't being worn, rather that it had been lain over something. Something that was, _"or had been." _bleeding. He knew that he wasn't going to find a scientist under the bloodstained coat, he knew it would be her. Fang almost turned to leave, head back to the flock and try to figure out what to tell them, but something held him there. Maybe he felt like he owed it to Max to see her one last time, or maybe he wanted to be absolutely sure, but more likely, it was seeing the black embroidered letters on the coat's pocket, "Batchelder" and realizing he couldn't let that sick bastard be the last person to have seen her, or showed her kindness.

Fang knelt and began to gently remove the coat. A wave of nausea hit him in the pit of his stomach when he saw her, bloody and mangled. Cuts and bruises covered her face, and one wing was bent at an impossible angle. He was sure that those were the least of her injuries. Her eyes were closed but in his mind, Fang saw the beautiful blue jewels shining as she smiled at him, something she hadn't done in a long time, and never would again. Nearly choking on his own emotions, he drew her into his arms and cried. He cried for the first time in a long time, the first time he could really remember. He buried his face in her hair, let the tears fall, content just to hold her.

"My Max, my Max,"

_"She died alone, and I wasn't here to save her. I should have been here! I never got to say goodbye, to tell her-" _His mental raging was cut short as he heard a small, choked voice behind him.

"Fang?"

_"Her voice! Now I'm hallucinating!" _He was so convinced that the voice had just been an illusion from his broken heart, he didn't even open his eyes, or lift his head.

"Fang." this time the voice was stronger, more sure, and accompanied by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, expecting Angel or Nudge or Ms. Martinez, but what he saw brought new tears spilling out of his eyes. She was battered and bruised, but alive, and that's all that mattered

"I-I-I..." he stammered through his tears, as he set down the limp body he had been cradling, and allowed himself to be helped to his feet.

"It's ok Fang. I'm fine." she whispered, pulling him closer, and wrapping her arms around him.

"Max." Fang wrapped his own arms around her and took deep breaths, trying to capture as much of her scent as possible. She looked up in to his dark eyes, her blue ones even more beautiful than he remembered, a small, cautious smile crept to her lips.

"Max, I Love you. I think I always have, but I just realized how much. And it's more than I could take if I lost you." he bent his head into her neck, pulling her closer, but she pulled back gently. A spike of fear ran through him.

_"What did I just do, She'll hate me now. Oh God, what did I do?"_ again his thoughts were interrupted, this time as she reached out and pulled his head down to her level, pressing their lips together. Instantly all thoughts of pain, panic and loss were forgotten and there was only this moment. They broke after a time and said nothing, holding each other, comforted by the others embrace. They stayed like that for a long while, until they heard a door slam, and the worried rustling of four pairs of wings.

Max pulled away and grabbed Fang's hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Lets go, they don't need to see all this," she gestured to the wreckage around them,

"It's all over, isn't it Max." Fang stated, rather than asked, holding her back just a second longer.

"For now, Fang. For now." She replied, and that radiant smile, that Fang remembered from so long ago, covered her face.

"Good, 'cus I'm never letting you out of my sight again, so no more running off to blow up the bad guys. Got it?" He said with mock sternness, though she could tell he meant what he said, to a reasonable extent, of course.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." she mumbled before she quickly kissed him again.

"Now that that's settled, your flock awaits." Fang dipped and awkward bow and swept an arm out in front of them. Max laughed, took his hand again and led the way toward the sound of the flock.

"It's over Fang." she whispered, almost to herself. He looked down at her and smiled.

"No. It's just beginning."

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A/N: That's all folks! The end of Winged Disaster has come and gone. Hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank all of you one more time for your reviews and support, and apologize again for the wait, and for being a little emo with that last bit. (never mind, I don't know what I'm saying...well it's emo for me.) Anyway, I'll probably be writing another MR fic after the third book comes out in May, so, yeah. Tell me what you think, reviews still appreciated.

ENox


	7. Nothing Sinister Preview

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Max muttered, looking at the ground as the forests below gradually gave way to shrubs and desert.

"Because, you love me… This much." Fang laughed, spreading his arms underneath huge black wings. Max let out an exasperated sigh. She angled down and folded her wings, dropping about ten feet before flipping around and unfurling, facing the other direction. Fang, anticipating her move, had wheeled around and was hovering vertically in her path. Max back winged, so as not to run into him, pulling up to face him so they were virtually "standing" on air, glaring at each other.

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"Is that a Picture of me? In your locker?!" Max asked from behind Fang. He quickly slammed to door shut.

"Like I don't see enough of you already." He muttered, but he was fumbling with his lock and his face had gone red. Max snatched the door open. There was in fact, a collage of photos pasted to the inside of his locker. Most were of the flock, some of him and the B-Ball team, and lots of Max. One in particular caught Max's eye. It was a candid shot of Max and Fang, curled up together in the backseat of the Martinez's van, after the destruction of the school. Ella had snapped it, but Max had no idea fang had kept it. She was suddenly speechless.

'_How'd we get so messed up? Why do we fight so much?"_

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"What do you want Arianna?" Max muttered, happy feeling gone.

"You promised me a tutor session, Bio, remember?" Arianna held up her large Biology textbook. Max's shoulders slumped even more, if that was possible.

"Okay, I'm coming." She headed after her clone-sib, then turned and stepped back to Fang.

"We'll talk when we get home, Okay?" She told him. Not waiting for a reply, she planted a quick kiss on his lips, and then rushed after Arianna, planting a light punch in between the hybrid's wings.

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A/N: this has been a preview of Nothing Sinister, but High School. Please direct your attention that direction, Winged Disaster is _Officially Complete_, But the Story continues _elsewhere_.

E'Nox


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